Thankful Thursday

I've always enjoyed the "Thankful Thursday" posts of friends and relatives who participate in that weekly gratitude journal. I'm thankful that they make those posts public. Often their posts are so poignant and sweetly personal, yet they happily share their thoughts with us and in turn our own hearts are made more grateful and we become more appreciative of the blessings in our own lives.

A few days ago I published a post about "Gratitude." In the post I mentioned three questions that one can ask oneself that will, in time, help one to look at things with a more positive attitude and a more thankful heart. Those questions are:

1.) What surprised me today?
2.) What moved me or touched me today?
3.) What inspired me today?

I'm going join the "Thankful Thursday" bandwagon and start publishing a weekly post. However, in my post instead of listing things I am grateful for, I will be answering these three questions each week. If you would like to play along, just leave a comment below with your link so we can all benefit. Since this will be a once a week post, I will change the questions to reflect a weekly journal...

What surprised me this week?

My favorite surprise this week was a note from one of the young women that I teach at church. She had a birthday recently and has joined the upper echelon of teenage girls, so she is no longer in my class. I just love this girl. She has always been so kind and respectful to me as her leader and she has always been willing to help when asked and volunteer when necessary. Well, she wrote me a little note of appreciation this week. The kind acts of strangers and friends --whether it's a smile, hug, laugh, plate of goodies or a note -- is always such a welcome and appreciated surprise!

What moved me or touched me this week?

This week a young woman who I've grown to love and admire emailed me with a question. She suffered a miscarriage a short time ago and she asked me if I had any advice as to how to deal with this painful disappointment in her life. She knew that I had dealt with a similar issue years ago. What really moved me was her reason behind asking me for advice. She wanted to be able to celebrate with her friends their pregnancies and deliveries. Isn't that amazing? Instead of feeling sorry for herself, she wanted to reach out to others. I am always touched by the selflessness of others.

What inspired me this week?

My sister is an amazing woman. She's thoughtful and thought provoking. She is a preschool teacher and I'm quite sure she has often had to use the patience she practices with her preschoolers on her thick-headed sister (me). She is kindness personified. For as many years as I can remember she has performed an act of service every Wednesday morning. This service is never given to a person that she knows personally. She goes about this service without fanfare or thought of compensation. She's amazing and she is an inspiration to me.